Valve announces an updated Steam Subscriber Agreement, becoming the latest company to attempt to avoid potential class action lawsuits by prohibiting them as a term of service. Here is their explanation of this:

Weíre also introducing a new dispute resolution process that will benefit you and Valve. Recently, a number of companies have created similar provisions which have generated lots of discussion from customers and communities, and weíve been following these discussions closely. On Steam, whenever a customer is unhappy with any transaction, our first goal is to resolve things as quickly as possible through the normal customer support process. However in those instances in which we can't resolve a dispute, we've outlined a new required process whereby we agree to use arbitration or small claims court to resolve the dispute. In the arbitration process, Valve will reimburse your costs of the arbitration for claims under a certain amount. Reimbursement by Valve is provided regardless of the arbitratorís decision, provided that the arbitrator does not determine the claim to be frivolous or the costs unreasonable.

Most significant to the new dispute resolution terms is that customers may now only bring individual claims, not class action claims. We considered this change very carefully. Itís clear to us that in some situations, class actions have real benefits to customers. In far too many cases however, class actions donít provide any real benefit to users and instead impose unnecessary expense and delay, and are often designed to benefit the class action lawyers who craft and litigate these claims. Class actions like these do not benefit us or our communities. We think this new dispute resolution process is faster and better for you and Valve while avoiding unnecessary costs, and that it will therefore benefit the community as a whole.

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 22:05:I can understand why some people would be annoyed by this move but I consider it to be perfectly reasonable. If somebody has an issue it will be taken to arbitration and Valve will cover the costs, regardless of the outcome. It improves transparency, which is something Valve often lacks. And yes, if EA had made this move my position would still be the same - my stance is not hypocritical.

However, I am concerned about the idea of prohibiting class action lawsuits. Every business that can do so will do so, as it reduces potential liabilities. More importantly, it seems ridiculous that such a clause can be buried in the ToS. If class action lawsuits are being abused then the system needs to be reformed.

It's a shame that the legal system is such a mess than clauses like this are even needed.

Hope you recall our discussion about this when Origin (EA) did the same, because I do. Plenty of quotes to go around...